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31 December 2013

This past year I took a leap of faith. Towards the end of
2011 I had an epiphany. It was one of those “aha-but-the-thought-kinda-scares-me”
ideas.

So I lulled the idea into remission for a season. Meanwhile,
throughout 2012 I spoke with some trusted advisors, friends and family about
the idea just to make sure I wasn’t crazy. And everywhere I turned I
encountered confirmation.

Which made me scareder. (In proper English, that would be
translated as “more scared.”)

So, I sat on the idea some more. From the time the thought
hit me about two years ago until the time I actually started doing something
about it, more than a full year had passed.

In March this year I took the plunge, along with some other
brave souls. We registered PlayFull as a not-for-profit corporation. Suddenly,
we were official.

Since then, I would characterize our progress as slow but
steady. Here are some tangibles to celebrate:

1. Our website went live in mid-July. It currently features
more than 100 articles—some funny, some serious; some short, some long. There’s
poetry, photography, book reviews, and thought-provoking quotes. Topics range
from play and architecture to pajama day in the workplace. We’ve written about
children’s ministry and team building, death and humility. We’ve cited Harvard
professors and comic strip authors.

2. In October, we held our first PlayDate with Step Up to
Help based in Denver, Colorado.

3. We honed two stories in our PlayFull Faith series. The
first is a retelling of creation and the second is a retelling of the birth,
death and resurrection of Jesus. Though there are many more stories to come in
this series, we already have requests for copies of the first two.

4. Finally, we rounded out our board of directors and opened
a bank account just a few weeks ago.

To be sure, more has been accomplished but these are the
highlights. For a crazy, upstart idea I’d
say that’s not bad, though, eh.

In 2014, we will hopefully receive our 501c3 status from the
IRS. When that happens we will be able
to more fully live into the vision.

On that note, here’s what I see:

I see groups of people learning and growing by playing together.
I see teams equipped to work together in unity. I see leaders thinking
creatively about obstacles they face. I see marriages renewed, conflicts
resolved, and friendships forged.

I see faith invigorated. I see people discovering a God who
dances. I see artistic expression. I see PlayFull’s stories shed new light on
age-old traditions. I see people praying, simply, playfully.

In the new year we will write, photograph, facilitate
conversation and collaboration. We will work on at least one book and continue
to direct others to helpful resources. We will strive to complete our PlayFull
Faith series. We will form PlayGroups in multiple locations. We will coach
leaders and fuel self-awareness. Bottom line: We will strive to help others "play from the inside-out." Our desire is to provide various playful pathways towards personal, relational and organizational health. So...

Look out 2014. It’s time to play.

Thanks to all of you in advance for joining in. Your
participation and your words of encouragement are invaluable.

21 December 2013

When we get out of the glass bottles of our ego,and when we escape like squirrels turning in the cages of our personalityand get into the forests again,we shall shiver with cold and frightbut things will happen to usso that we don’t know ourselves.

Cool, unlying life will rush in,and passion will make our bodies taut with power,we shall stamp our feet with new powerand old things will fall down,we shall laugh, and institutions will curl up like burnt paper.

16 December 2013

In fact, let me give you a hand with it, okay? Here’s a list
of twenty things you can do. I purposely made the list short so you could keep it
in your wallet, pocket or coin purse. Which one of these are you good at? Which
one needs more practice?

10 December 2013

Some days you wake up and when you think of the hours ahead
you say to yourself: “Meh.” There’s nothing you’re anxious about in particular
but neither is there anything you’re excited about. It’s a “meh” kind of day.
Middle of the road.

So, you compose a mental checklist, searching for a way out
of the “meh”, something to light your fire. But certain tasks need to get done
today—and there are only so many hours in the day—so there will be no time for
lighting fires any time soon. In fact, the list will likely spill over to the
next day. More “meh” tomorrow, too.

And you know that if you neglect the list, it will catch up
with you. Sometimes, mundane things cannot be put off. Better to git ‘er done
now, eh. So, you resign yourself to “meh”—but feel a little unhappy about it
still.

2. Meh does not diminish love one speck. Human history is filled
with days when those who felt meh were loved beyond measure, though their
feelings might have told them otherwise.

3. Don’t wait to feel exuberant to sing. Sing anyway.
Whatever comes to mind: from childhood, the radio, a hymnal. Make your own tune
to a billboard slogan. Don’t take it too seriously.

4. Or take 15 minutes to just write. You never know where
Imagination might take you in that short time. Think of it as planting a flag
in the ground of “meh”, decorating the land with a flash of color. Liken something right in front of you to an
idea, feeling or person. That loose thread reminds you of a kind word that you
haven’t said yet. That leaf on the ground, humility. The grain of salt, a
friend.

5. Have faith that every “meh” day serves a purpose beyond
mere “meh.”

6. Take some seconds to just be still, close your eyes, be
present to the fact that you are breathing, living.

7. Tell friends and family you love them. A “meh” day could
be someone’s last. Saying “I love you” out of routine is better than not
saying it at all. And the saying of it jostles the torpor. It’s a form of recollection:
“Oh, yes. This is who I am. I remember now.”

8. Doodle.

9. Light a candle.
Look at the flame. It is what it is. It does not need to exert effort to shine
brightly. It doesn’t add anything to the simple act of burning. Even on a “meh”
day, this is you.

I hope you can see that meh days are good days. Thank you
for taking the time with me just now so I could share that with you. Be loved.

05 December 2013

Later today I will fly to Austin, Texas to meet with
PlayFull’s new board member, Dave Marmion. You can see from the picture: he's one serious dude. :)

I met Dave for the first time in Madrid, Spain back in 2003
when he was there with his brother Rob on a brief research trip, of sorts. A
friend of theirs named Kelly Wills (now Kelly Jennemann) was planning on moving
to Spain to pursue ministry among young people and they wanted to see if there
were any churches who’d be keen to be a support to Kelly.

As it turns out, Kelly ended up doing an internship with us
for some months. In theory, she was slated to move on after that, but we
managed to “suck her into the vortex” (as we’d say jokingly). So, we had the privilege of working with
Kelly—a creative, passionate soul—for some years until she moved back to the
States. After I met Dave that summer, however, I had little (if any) contact
with him—but he continued to follow our ministry via our mutual friend Kelly.

In 2010, my wife, kids and I moved from Spain to Chicago. And
that is when I really started getting to know Dave through some great phone
conversations. He is a kindred spirit. And this is why I asked him to serve on
the board of PlayFull:

He understands and lives out an ethos of grace, grace, wild
grace.

Dave understands that we grow the most in the unknowns of
life. He had been planning to step into ministry in Europe for a season but God
had different plans. The desire to pursue ministry in Europe was in itself a
step into the big unknown. I can personally attest that ministry is just about as messy as anything gets. (That may surprise you, but it’s
true).

That said, when God directed Dave in a different path, I was
impressed to see how Dave was able to open up his hands and relinquish that
dream, even though it hurt to do so. Skeptics may have said, “Don’t give up.
Keep pursuing your dreams, no matter what!” They might label such
relinquishment “unwise”, “insane” or “depressing.”

I think of it as “trusting.” When one relinquishes something
that dear, one does so as a sign of trust. "Opening our hands" is a way of saying, “I trust
you, God, that—even though it hurts to give this up—you have my best interest
at heart and you will give me something even better than I can imagine right
now.” When we open our hands like this, we may need to wait for what is better,
but in time it will come. I suppose this is the same kind of trust that infused
Abraham with strength when God asked him to be willing to give up his own son.
It seems crazy in our eyes, but God knew better and provided a way out of the
insanity.

Yes, Dave understands that grace is wild. And he understands
that in the messiness of grace there is a life of deep, abundant, unshakable
joy to be found.

In short, he understands what PlayFull means when we say we
want to help people and groups “play from the inside-out.” He's practiced that himself.

I could not be more thrilled to work alongside this kindred
spirit. Welcome, Dave. I look forward to seeing you later today! And to your beautiful family…Allyson, Zach and
Owen: I look forward to playing with you all, too. Hopefully, I won’t freak y’all out too much…J